Council of Governors
The Council of Governors is an important part of our Trust. We want to ensure that Governors bring benefits to our patients and local people, and that they are able to fulfil their statutory role.
In the last few months Governors have received some fantastic feedback from local people, giving us more of an understanding of what members, patients and the public need from and think of the Trust. These views feed into our planning of services, ensuring that they make a difference to what we do and how services are organised in the future.
The role
The Council holds the Non Executive Directors individually and collectively to account for the performance of the Board of Directors. They also represent the interests of the members of the Trust as a whole and the interests of the public. With Public, Staff and Appointed Governors the interests of members and partnership organisations are represented in discussing how the Trust runs.
Talking with the Trust’s members is a really important part of the role. Governors lead on the membership strategy, ensuring that information on our services, our vision and performance, is regularly fed back to our members and the wider public. Most importantly, Governors enable members to talk to us about Trust services. This is a major part of the Governor role in representing the people of Great Yarmouth and Waveney.
The Council currently meets five times a year, with two Committees sitting beneath that. Effectiveness is reviewed on an annual basis in line with best practice. All recommendations from Governors/Committees are presented to the Council, as the decision making body, as powers cannot be delegated.
How do Governors gain views?
The Council has done this in a number of ways since 2006 including Governors available in the foyer of the hospital, linking with GP surgeries through patient groups and participating in patient visits at the hospital. They have also held engagement events in libraries and supermarkets. Governors also have a network of family, friends and groups that they are already part of.
A new Council was elected in 2021.
You can find out more about the issues discussed in Council of Governor meetings via the meetings page, which includes agendas and videos of previous meetings.
We welcome comments from anyone in our local area.
If you would like to let us have your views on any matter affecting our services, please contact our Governors through this email governors@jpaget.nhs.uk
Read our Inside Story newsletter here
Code of Conduct
Governors operate within a Code of Conduct which sets out how they should behave as a holder of public office and what is required of this role. This is updated at least every two years and each Governor is required to sign up to the Code. This can be viewed via the 'Policies & key documents' link on the top left of this page.
Declarations of Interest
A Register of Interests is in place for the Council. On appointment all members are required to complete a declaration and any changes during the year must be notified to the Trust Secretary immediately and formally at the next meeting.
This is reviewed annually and, in addition, at the start of each meeting Governors are required to declare any interests that may affect the papers considered.
Further details can be found under the About us - Declarations of Interest page.